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It's day one of fortnightly refuse collection in city

From the archive, first published Wednesday 8th Oct 2003.

A CONTROVERSIAL new rubbish collection system for thousands of Southampton residents comes into force today.

Homes in the Bassett area of the city will be the first to trial the new scheme which will see household rubbish and recyclable waste collected on alternate weeks.

Homes in the area will be given a new bin so they can separate household and recyclable rubbish for collection.

The introduction of the scheme sparked anger among residents concerned about household waste being left in wheelie bins for up to two weeks. Some feared an increase in rats and flies especially during the summer.

More than 4,000 householders backed a Daily Echo campaign calling for councillors to retain weekly collections of household waste.

There was widespread anger when the city's controlling Liberal Democrats pushed through their proposals despite an overwhelming vote against the scheme at a full council meeting last month. Council leader Adrian Vinson has promised to review the scheme if it runs into problems.

The new system will cost the city council £1m.

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